This invention relates to a roof having a gutter formed internally therein by the roofing material.
Mobile homes and similar structures cannot easily utilize standard home type external gutters. First, mobile homes typically do not have eaves but instead the roof ends at the side of the structure. Accordingly, the roof does not partially overhang the gutter and water from the roof tends to run between the gutter and the structure. This requires application of a sealant between the gutter and the structure which makes installation more costly and requires constant resealing to prevent leaking. In addition, in order to provide the slope necessary for the gutter to drain properly the majority of the gutter must be offset vertically from the roof which heightens the sealing problem. Finally, there is no structure on a mobile home from which external gutters can be hung that will support the weight of the gutter when it is full of water. Thus, if the gutter or downspout becomes plugged and water backs up into the gutter, it will pull free from the structure.
The roofing system of the present invention includes an internal gutter which is part of the roof itself and thus eliminates the necessity of installing an external gutter on this type of structure. A first flashing, which is attached to the edge of the roof base, has a lip that protrudes outwardly from the top surface of the base. The upper margin of a sheet of flexible, heat weldable roofing material is attached to the base, with the lower margin extending over the lip and down across the edge of the base. A second flashing, which conformingly overlies the first flashing, is then attached to the edge of the base, to clamp the lower margin of the sheet of roofing material between the first and second flashings. The margin of the sheet of roofing material extending upwardly over the lip acts as a gutter and prevents water from flowing off of the edge of the roof. In order to make the gutter slope from the sides of the roof toward the downspout, the sheet of material is pulled progressively more tautly over the lip of the first flashing extending away from the downspout.
The remainder of the base is then covered with additional sheets of roofing material with the bottom margin of each sheet overlapping the top margin of the downwardly adjacent sheet and the top margin of each sheet being attached to the base. The overlapping sheets are thermally welded together to form a watertight seal between them.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the subject invention to provide a roofing system having an internal gutter formed integrally in its edge.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide such a roofing system in which the gutter slopes from the sides of the roof toward the downspout.
It is a still further object of the subject invention to provide such a roofing system which is inexpensive and is easily installed.
The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.